NEW YORK, N.Y., October 19, 2005 - Inc. magazine today released its 24th annual Inc. 500ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery ranks No. 343 on the list, with three-year sales growth of 391.2%. The Inc. 500can be found in the November issue, which appears on newsstands November 1.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, based in Milton, Delaware, is the country's fastest-growing brewery and is nationally known for producing innovative beers. Dogfish Head distributes it"s ales to 25 states from Delaware. Dogfish Head also has a brewpub/distillery in downtown Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and the first Dogfish Head Alehouse opened in Gaithersburg, Maryland in September, 2005. "Growing at this rate is both exhilarating and exhausting. Dogfish Head President and Founder Sam Calagione explains, "and I know we could not have done it without the commitment and passion of our 70 co-workers, our business partners and our customers!

The Inc. 500 List

The companies that made the list represent the vanguard of American industry, posting an average three-year sales growth of 769%. Inc. 500companies posted aggregate 2004 revenue of $15.9 billion, and 84% of them were profitable. Most importantly, Inc. 500companies were engines of job growth, having created more than 95,000 jobs since the companies were founded.

The Inc. 500list generated 25,180 new jobs in the past year alone, a stunning 35% year-over-year increase. Compare this with the total number of employees among Fortune 500 companies, which declined in 2001, 2002, and 2003 before experiencing a 1.3% uptick of 306,045 jobs in 2004.

"When you look at the amazing job growth among Inc. 500companies and contrast it with the stagnation in the Fortune 500, it underscores the changing nature of our economy, said Jim Melloan, project manager for the Inc. 500. With unprecedented global competition, companies have to be able to turn on a dime and discover innovative new ways of doing business. Increasingly, it's the smaller, agile companies like those on the Inc. 500that are best equipped to meet these challenges.

The Inc. 500ranks privately held companies according to year-over-year sales growth from 2001 to 2004. With approximately 75% of all new job creation in the U.S. coming from entrepreneurial businesses, the Inc. 500 opens a window onto the companies and industries that are driving the economy forward. Over the years, the Inc. 500 has identified the next generation of world-class companies, with Microsoft, Stonyfield Farms, Timberland, Oracle, The Princeton Review, Morningstar, Jamba Juice, Gateway, E*Trade, Intuit, and Domino"s Pizza all appearing on the list before they became industry powerhouses.